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 Bow craft, Fletching and other Bosmeri Passtimes. |
Durdain
Baron
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 400
Location: Wigan, England
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| Bow craft, Fletching and other Bosmeri Passtimes. |
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Book written by an Imperial visitor to Valenwood in the style of Ray Mears perhaps? 
Must think of a good Imperial Name...
Bow craft, Fletching and other Bosmeri Passtimes.
In Valenwood the bow and arrow has long since prevailed as the primary
weapon of choice amongst the province?s better known inhabitants ? the
Bosmer. The wood elves have great skill within this field, in every
aspect the folk excel. They cannot of course rival the Empire?s mass
production of arms but the quality and design employed in Valenwood is
nothing short of masterful. The legions are largely supplied with iron,
steel or silver wood bows when on service, now while the Imperial
archers play a large part in the defence of fort and castle;
marksmanship is still drastically undervalued in the Empire at least in
my own view.
The Bosmer use the bow as a means of survival, in both a mundane,
routine sense and in times of action and war. In the wild lands the
tribes of Bosmer who remove themselves from Imperial rule, hunt to
survive; stalking deer and other game in the lush forests and glades.
Religiously the Bosmer are devout meat eaters, making no secret of
their fondness for cannibalism. However they do not kill each other for
food as often as some would have you believe, rather eating those that
die peacefully or those who fall in battle. The Bosmer sport of choice
then is that of hunting and wood stalking.
The tall timbers of Valenwood mean that stealth has become second
nature to most Bosmer hunters; shaping from shadow to shadow and
blending with the bark. With the stature of a wood elf being very small
in comparison with the other races on Tamriel they have developed this
key skill over many years and often use it to their advantage. This is
no insult however, indeed one could write a lengthy book on the subject
of the wood elves and their secret ways; if they could be found in the
first place of course. The Bosmer use shortbows predominantly in
hunting; that is bows that would function as flexible, almost fragile
shortbows in the hands of a human. The bow in terms of the Bosmer?s own
size however is entirely different; it is not unusual to find a
huntsman or woman with a bow which is just under his or her own height
when standing. That brings me to my next point; among the Bosmer it is
not very uncommon for the female to do the hunting in a tribe, skill
befits the role before all else. The need for expert crafting and
lightweight bow making then has always been strong.
As another unconventional custom raises its head we again must blame it
on the Bosmer?s very hard to grasp religion. This will probably be
quite the shocking revelation if you know nothing at all about the tree
sap people other than their readily apparent skill with bows and
arrows: The Bosmer refuse to use wood or vegetable derivative from
Valenwood?s own trees and flora. So how can this nation of great
hunters create such fine and lightweight bows? The simple answer is
that they use wood that is either imported or quite bewilderingly wood
cut from their own forest but by a foreign hand. Sometimes and more
frequently amongst more secluded tribes other materials are drafted in
such as bone or detritus.
When using wood the hunter will strip of the bark from a stave; usually
with the mer?s own nimble fingers and with incredible ease. Bow length
can vary massively from tribe to tribe depending on hunting style and
general bow etiquette. The clans of Valenwood have long since perfected
their own culture of warfare and sport and so vary in their equipment
design. Some of the border tribes including those who once made up a
wedge of the Colovian West?s armies create longbows that are purposely
larger than the wielder; no doubt when heading to the fringes of the
forest where there are less places to hide, range favours the elves the
most and the Bosmer are more than capable of adapting for such a
situation. Bows of this size however are impractical within the deep
jungles and mangroves of middle Valenwood. Shorter staves are stripped
and flint tools are used to cut away some of the middleweight to form a
grip. Valenwood timbers are naturally flexible when youthful but of
course to find the best dexterity then is paradoxical to the people?s
religion. The faithful wardens of the forest who value it the most
guard the natural saplings as best they can, using their beast tongue
abilities to confer with animals, travelling the length and breadth of
the province defending Valenwood from loggers who would market this
very thing.
Tailoring the stave now is where I believe the Bosmer to be at their
very best. Using an often simple knife a veteran bowyer can chip and
bend any wood piece to almost any dimension. It is hard to describe
such craft without knowledge of bow making to hand. The stave is first
allowed to retain much of its natural moisture and tapering starts very
soon after the bark is stripped. If the wood was to become too dry then
the bow would become too brittle, as I understand it, becoming then
very hard to carve. Once cut and limbed the stave starts to resemble a
bow in its full form, moisture now plays an adverse part and any twists
or bends in the wood must be ironed out by the hunter. In an effort to
keep the bow dry the Bosmer use large communal fires, making sure not
to set the bow alight of course or alternatively, hang the bows from
branches in dryer seasons.
Once fully carved the bows are imbued with enchantment from song or
painted and guilt with mineral trimmings depending on the hunter?s
wealth and extravagance. Bows can often be decorated with birds or
other forest dwelling animals, deer are common depictions, for the
Bosmer do not forget their sacrifice in the hunt. The creation of bows
using other sources is a much less laboured affair. Bone bows,
depending on where the bone originated, can be very lightweight but
also incredibly short-lived. Bones of course are not naturally
flexible. On occasion some magics are used to lend ampleness to these
bows; sometimes special liquids are combined with the bone ? created
from grubs and such. More often than not however sinew and bracken are
gripped tightly to the bone stem lending bend to the bow. One of the
most famous bows of this type is Nulrathan?s thigh cracker, the
namesake being a great yeoman of old who had his femurs and various
sinews and fleshy bits bound together and put to use by the rest of his
descendents. Horns and leaves can often be found attached to Bosmer
bows, giving strength to the frame in the case of Minotaur horn or
simply in the quest for luck with things such as Hippogriff wing and
Taproot.
Bow strings are integral to the production of a good bow naturally and
here the Bosmer again excel. Common material used includes hair, flax
thread, leather hide pieces and animal and elf intestine. The string
must be attached and made as taught as possible without putting to much
strain on either of the bow limbs. A knot is often tied in the string
to aid in the nocking of an arrow and the string is attached either via
expert trapping at the tip of either limb or simply tying the string to
either end. Centaur mane is said to gift arrows with luck but it is
widely assumed that the mane hair is used simply because of its amazing
resilience properties.
Fletching is a large industry in Valenwood as one can imagine, all
kinds of arrows are imported to and created in the province. Iron
arrows found throughout the Empire often find there way to markets and
sell for prices way above their worth on account of the Bosmer?s
general lack of iron mongering knowledge and of course the people?s
seemingly natural affinity for all things outlandish. Steel and silver
arrows find their way into the hands of the wealthy while tribal clans
prefer to use their own self made versions. Stone tipped wood arrows
are frequent amongst the wild Bosmer, the forest is scoured for fallen
wood and displaced stones. Near the coast pebbles are sharpened and
brought inland to be used as arrowheads and the trimmed bones of
domestic livestock make decent projectiles also. In actually fletching
these arrows bird feathers are the most obvious and common, the rarer
mimic feathers are said to lend the arrow an alarming message when
fired, if fletched right. The Fletcher can repeat the phrase or words
he or she wishes to be put upon the wind when the arrow is fired, to
the mimic, as the hunter plucks the feathers. This is a special skill
and somewhat of a myth in most places but is intriguing nonetheless.
Hippogriff feathers are said to be give quite the lift to an arrow
also, as are the leaves of certain plants.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Durdain: 19.12.2006 23:03.
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19.12.2006 20:50 |
   
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Mormacil
Herma-Mora the Woodland Man
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 2,250
Location: Netherlands
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I read it little more then half way, the I got tired(only slpet 4 hours last night 
) Well as far as I read it's nicely written.
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19.12.2006 22:34 |
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Arbiter
Archduke
Registration Date: 24.10.2005
Posts: 2,633
Location: Croatia the Nether-Bringer
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Bow, bow, bow... too many bows for this time of night. 
I'll tell you how I feel in the morning when I read completely. 
__________________
The Forgotten Ones have returned.
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19.12.2006 22:41 |
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Durdain
Baron
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 400
Location: Wigan, England
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Hmm tis slightly long I was wondering whether to split it but couldn't find an appropriate point. 
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19.12.2006 23:05 |
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Mormacil
Herma-Mora the Woodland Man
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 2,250
Location: Netherlands
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No way you can split it in to 2 volumes?
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19.12.2006 23:35 |
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Mormacil
Herma-Mora the Woodland Man
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 2,250
Location: Netherlands
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They use bone bows, and chitin imported from Morrowind.
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20.12.2006 01:05 |
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Mormacil
Herma-Mora the Woodland Man
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 2,250
Location: Netherlands
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It's true, it's also the reason they don't like big scale battles
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20.12.2006 12:28 |
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Durdain
Baron
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 400
Location: Wigan, England
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And I was really quite fond of Nulrathan's thigh cracker too.
So what needs re-doing here? I was actually quite happy with it to be
honest and I cant see what I have done terribly wrong. The green pact
is outlined and the process of making wood and bone bows is outlined in
moderate detail so not as to bore the reader too much.
What do people think of the mimic feathers in fletching? Too unbelievable?
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20.12.2006 12:39 |
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FLESH
Archduke
Registration Date: 23.06.2006
Posts: 2,824
Location: Ireland
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Raggidman was right in the sense that they only eat their foe's after battle, not friends.
But I like the book, well written, and perhaps it could be split up into two tomes?
Great work as usual Durdain.
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20.12.2006 15:13 |
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Arbiter
Archduke
Registration Date: 24.10.2005
Posts: 2,633
Location: Croatia the Nether-Bringer
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Excellent, but like it was already mentioned little too long.
Like how you went in fine details with descriptions and bows being part of Bosmeri culture. 
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20.12.2006 20:11 |
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Durdain
Baron
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 400
Location: Wigan, England
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I see what you mean now and I took no offence, all critism is welcome 
I dont write all that often and was simply trying a different style or rather slighty immitating that seen in vanilla OB.
So to be clear whats needed is literature from a BOSMER perspective
concentrating on society in Valenwood including bow making? (from non
wood material) A manual perhaps? Though that seems sort of out of place
to me. In fact a book of instructions could work as long as its not too
mundane.
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21.12.2006 15:25 |
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FC4
First Knight
Registration Date: 09.04.2008
Posts: 104
Location: La Florida!
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You neglected how they might use bone in construction of bows and
arrows. If I may, could I.... 'Hijack' this idea and expand upon it
with my own works?
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Ze one and only...
FC4
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09.04.2008 18:12 |
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Durdain
Baron
Registration Date: 15.08.2006
Posts: 400
Location: Wigan, England
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Go for it
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09.04.2008 19:09 |
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chris 07
First Knight
Registration Date: 02.07.2007
Posts: 154
Location: Valenwood
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So bone leather and other animal parts make up bows in valenwood, not bad, not bad...
Hey raggidman, he put it there because I told him to, so its my fault, I apologize.
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10.04.2008 01:10 |
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FC4
First Knight
Registration Date: 09.04.2008
Posts: 104
Location: La Florida!
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Well, I will begin a small bit of research on bonemold and such, and
make one up nice and easy. Might take a while though.
Leather itself would not make a good bow. It would probably do better
as a reinforcing material to keep the bow together, or the handle.
Muscle sinew should do great for a bow string.
__________________
Ze one and only...
FC4
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10.04.2008 16:50 |
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